A Newham couple are fighting a £110 rent hike because of leaks, damp, hot water issues, glitchy internet and mould so bad they had to throw out damaged clothes.
Kailan Blanks and his partner moved into a two-bedroom flat in Fizzy Living's East16 block in Newham last year, and are paying £2,195 a month to live in the block.
The 20-year-old said they were promised “faff-free living” and were attracted to the development because of its yoga studio, communal terrace and co-working space.
But after arriving, Kailan claims they were faced with a plethora of issues.
A spokesperson for Fizzy Living said it is "disappointed" to hear about the couple's complaints and has "implemented a number of changes" since being made aware of them.
Kailan said the problems included peristent internet problems which forced him to rely on mobile data for three months while working from home as a software developer.
There was also a leak which made the walls "totally soaked all the way down" and a cupboard "covered in mould", he claimed.
"We had to throw away some artwork where the frames were rotten from the mould and some clothes," he said.
Kailan added: “It’s like they just took us for idiots… When there were issues with services, like when we didn’t have internet for three months, they didn’t have to compensate us at all."
He also said the hot water is "intermittent" and the bin rooms "absolutely appalling week after week”.
Despite the problems, Fizzy Living increased the couple’s rent by £110 to £2,305 per month from the beginning of July.
The couple is refusing to pay, and has instead filed a complaint with the property ombudsman along with other residents.
A spokesperson for Fizzy Living said: “We pride ourselves in delivering a high standard of service to our residents, so we are disappointed that Mr Blanks has had a number of issues. We have been in touch with him and offered a range of solutions to address his concerns.
“New buildings can have snagging issues when people first move in and we endeavour to fix these within 24 hours of them being reported.
"Unfortunately this is not always possible, but we will always try to resolve problems as soon as we can and provide support to residents while a solution is found.
“We have implemented a number of changes since we were made aware of these matters including additional security and extended office hours on-site with further improvements on the way.”
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